online tools
Educate Yourself about Home Inspections
May 3, 2010 by jwhite · Leave a Comment
Q & A: Home Inspection Resource?
A great resource for home inspection information…
Q: Where can I learn more about home inspections and find reputable inspectors?
A: Naturally, personal referral is a great way to find a good inspector. However, if you’re interested in learning more about inspection details or need help finding professional inspectors, definitely check out InterNACHI, the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors:
The site features videos, guides, and help finding reputable inspectors. It can’t hurt to educate yourself on some of the particulars of home inspection.
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Tools from Google
April 21, 2010 by jwhite · 3 Comments
Google Tools for Real Estate Professionals
All of Google’s real estate tools in one place.
By now, you’re pretty familiar with the various ways we’ve shown you how to use Google’s free technology to help you improve your real estate business. From using Google Voice to creating hyperlocal Google Map videos, a little creative thinking can save you money and enhance your marketing and business management efforts.
But did you know Google also has a single page loaded with tools specifically for real estate? Check out this page with tools and examples of how to use those tools:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/events/realestatetools/index.html
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Project Management for Real Estate Agents
Project Management & Collaboration Made Easy: Basecamp
A web-based project collaboration tool can simplify complicated communication….
A real estate deal is a major project. So why do so few agents use project management software to stay on top of the deal?
In some form or another, you probably have a method to manage the many phases of your real estate deals. Odds are, it probably could use some improvement, but you probably don’t have the time to reinvent the wheel while you’re working. You might consider looking for new, inexpensive tools to help you streamline your process.
One such tool is Basecamp, a project management and collaboration tool used by millions of people across many major companies. With a 98% customer referral rating, Basecamp provides you a centralized, web-based location for managing a project. This includes:
- Deadlines
- To-do lists
- File sharing
- Message boards
- Project (or deal!) milestones
- Time tracking
- …and more
Not only can you use Basecamp to keep your own side of the deal on track, but you can use it as a convenient central location to keep the lines of communication open with your clients. You can try Basecamp for 30 days for free: http://www.basecamphq.com
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Need to Calculate an Irregular Lot Size?
How to Calculate Irregular Lot Sizes
Use this free point-and-click tool for calculating lot sizes
Recently, a reader of our popular 12 Free Tools for Agents Working BPOs & REOs wrote us asking for a tool to help calculate irregular lot size. While rectangular lots were a breeze, irregular lots were a bit of a challenge.
We quickly located a handy online lot size tool which allows you to outline a lot using a point-and-click Google Maps interface. With a minimum of 3 points, it will calculate the lot you enclose. To start, you must have an approximate address:
By the way… if you haven’t downloaded our 12 Free Tools eBook, check it out here:
12 Free Tools for Agents Working BPO’s and REO’s
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Need to Send a File too Large for Email?
April 2, 2010 by jwhite · Leave a Comment
How to Send Large Files Without Clogging Up Email
Attachment too big? No problem!
Have you ever had to send a client a large PDF file or high resolution photo, only to find out that the file is too large to attach and send via email? Well, now you can quickly and easily transfer large files using You Send It!, a free service which allows you to upload files via a web browser and provide your intended recipient with a simple link to download the file to their machine.
Works great for files up to 2GB in size. Premium delivery options include password-protected deliver, certified delivery with tracking, and return receipts. There are handy plugins for Outlook and Photoshop, too!
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online tools
Need to Build a New Website?
Q & A: New Website?
Don’t reinvent the wheel…
Q: When I build my next website, should I do it from scratch?
A: No. You can save significant time and money by using free and low-cost options that are 90% ready “off the shelf.” Back in the day, you used to go to a web design company and go through a painstakingly slow and expensive process. This is no longer the case. If you can imagine it, it’s probably already out there… you just don’t know where to find it yet!
In addition to many turn-key web companies aimed at real estate agents (point2agent.com, busyagentpro.com, agentimage.com), you can also explore free packages such as WordPress.org. Hiring a local webmaster (college students are a good place to start) to configure WordPress for you with a real estate template will cost you a fraction of what designing from scratch will cost.
How much of a savings? You can safely assume that by the time you’re done with design and programming revisions, a website from scratch might cost you thousands. Depending on the route you choose, you could potentially save those thousands by going with a turn-key solution.
Remember: Focusing on developing leads, communicating via social media, and expanding your network of influence is far more important than “rolling your own” website.
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Take Control of Your Online Reputation
March 30, 2010 by jwhite · Leave a Comment
How to Monitor Your Reputation on Yelp.com
Yelp.com can be a great ally, if you use it well.
Ever heard of Yelp.com? It’s a consumer review site, where community members post reviews about their experiences with local restaurants and businesses. You might not think of yourself as a “small business,” but a surprising number of reviews on Yelp.com cover professionals from doctors to lawyers and yes… even real estate professionals.
Originally covering the Bay Area in California, Yelp.com has grown to become an international hub for frank, uncensored reviews. Growing at a fast clip, if your city isn’t already covered in Yelp, it probably will be soon.
Yelp is a great place to ask your satisfied clients to review your services. It’s also a place you should monitor occasionally to make sure misinformation or unfair reviews are being posted about your services as a real estate professional.
To check for yourself, go to Yelp.com and search for your name in your city, or search for “real estate” to see who else is reviewed.
A guide for business owners is available on Yelp.com here:
http://www.yelp.com/business
Pay special attention to the section on “responding to reviews”:
http://www.yelp.com/business/review_response
Used properly, Yelp.com is a great place to have public conversations with your local community and earn referrals.
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online tools
Get Feedback with this Online Tool
March 29, 2010 by jwhite · Leave a Comment
How to Get Honest Feedback: Rypple.com
Get feedback, take action, get results…
To truly boost your business, you need good feeback. Often you know exactly what you’re doing right, but you’re not sure what areas you could improve. But how do you get honest feedback from people you trust?
Enter Rypple.com, an online tool that helps individuals get quick semi-anonymous feedback. As featured on National Public Radio(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101281162) this free tool can help you discover areas of improvement that you wouldn’t learn about in face-to-face conversations.
This could be an incredibly useful tool for offices looking for a non-confrontational way to improve!
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How to Make Listing Videos Using Only Photos
March 9, 2010 by jwhite · 2 Comments
How to Make Listing Videos Using Only Photos
The Low-cost, high-value way to showcase your listings
As video continues to develop as a dominant force in the future of online marketing and communication, many agents face the difficult question of how to use video when they do not have the time, money, or technical expertise to produce full-featured videos for their listings.
Since we’re always on the lookout for good examples of how to use practical tips and tools to overcome obstacles and build your real estate business, we couldn’t resist sharing this great example of how to create videos without using actual video footage, as demonstrated by Mike Walker of Ohio.
At first glance, Mike’s approach seems very straightforward: He takes photos of his listings and creates slide shows which can then be exported to video for YouTube.com and other video sharing sites. The devil, however, is really in the details with Mike’s videos.
He employs five small, but effective techniques to make his videos more entertaining and more effective at communicating essential information:
1. Mike uses a special effect / transition in the video to draw the eye into or across the photo– typically called the “Ken Burns” effect, this motion keeps the photos from sitting idle in the video
2. Mike incorporates some music to the photos; you could also record audio of yourself talking about attributes of the property (or do both)
3. In YouTube, Mike wisely titles every video with the property address as well as a contact phone number. This way, his contact information TRAVELS with the video, wherever it may be embedded or shared!
4. Inside of each video, Mike makes sure to include the address of his website– this way, individual videos become magnets for traffic back to his site, even if the video is embedded in other pages
5. You’ll notice that Mike uses the same videos for his “Available” and “Just Sold” properties. When a property he’s sold is no longer on the market, he can easily change the text above the video to “Just Sold” to showcase past listings he’s successfully brought to market
If you think video is out of range for you, think again. This is an excellent, low-cost, low-overhead model for increasing prospect engagement on your own website.
Check out more examples here:
http://www.showmethekeys.com
Thanks again, Mike, for agreeing to share your technique with our subscribers!
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Do You Text While Driving?
March 7, 2010 by jwhite · Leave a Comment
Avoid Texting Accidents with DriveSafe.ly
Prevent auto accidents with one convenient app
Texting while driving is a recipe for distaster. According to a 2007 study by “Students Against Destructive Decisions,” nearly 50% of teens admit to text messaging while driving. We’re willing to bet it’s probably that high for your average on-the-go real estate pro, too.
If you’re guilty of distracted driving, now there’s a mobile app that might just save your life. From the website:
DriveSafe.ly is a mobile application that reads text (SMS) messages and emails aloud in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching the mobile phone. DriveSafe.ly is the solution to texting while driving.
According to the company behind DriveSafe.ly, the app’s features include:
- Reads your text messages and emails out loud in real time
- Hands Free – No need to touch the phone while driving
- One-touch activation – no complicated setup
- Bluetooth and radio transmitter compatible
- Reads text message shorthand (lol, brb)
- Optional customizable auto-responder
Test drive the DriveSafe.ly app yourself here:
http://www.drivesafe.ly/
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